


The Promise

by iolaus1024



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Developing Relationship, F/M, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Horror, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Science Fiction, Slow Burn, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-01
Updated: 2017-02-24
Packaged: 2018-09-21 07:54:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9538664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iolaus1024/pseuds/iolaus1024
Summary: Recent events have left Will Byers and other residents of Hawkins struggling to get their lives back to normal. None of them know that the events of that one week were just the beginning of a new series of ordeals.(Why is it so hard to write a good summary? Read this if you want Will X Mike & Lucas X Eleven slow-burn with pain and angst drama and crazy science-y horror stuff going on. Also includes Troy angst.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I was inspired to write this story after reading the fic "Some Beautiful Paths Can't Be Discovered Without Getting Lost" by user Kikinu.
> 
> Originally my plan was to complete this fic and then post it over a set period of time. But I will not have access to my computer for a few days and I am having such a fun time writing it that I wanted to post what I have written so far.
> 
> This story is written in segments. Every time the character Point of View changes, I start a new segment. The way they are grouped into chapters isn't really important, so I have the freedom to post whenever I want to.
> 
> I have 6 segments written so far, but only these 3 have been edited for posting (I do really heavy editing :P ). In total I have 57 segments planned (edited down from 73). Don't start counting segments though because I'm certain I'll add/change things.

_"The pluralistic world is one,_

_the singular world is many, all_

_connected by mist._

_Mist summons evil, evil summons_

_mist. That which manifests_

_itself returns to nothing."_

\- Chronicles of the Dark Sword

 

***

 

 

S1 - Dr. Krait

 

 “Good day, sir. Can I help you?”

 “Yes, I'm here to see Mr. Jones. I have an appointment. I'm Dr. Krait.”

 The receptionist looked confused. It was strange to have appointments this late in the afternoon. She reviewed a few papers before slowly typing something into a computer.

He looked around the lobby. It was a very large empty room with a tiled floor. A few lights made the room glow a weird pale amber color. There weren't any chairs or other furniture. They could at least _try_ to make the place look normal, he thought.

 The woman spoke, “Ah, yes, Dr. Krait. Mr. Jones should be ready to see you. Take the elevator to the 5th floor. His office is room 1. It will be-” As she was saying this, the elevator opened. “Oh, here he is right now. Mr. Jones, sir, Dr. Krait is here to see you.”

 “Indeed he is.”, said Mr. Jones as he stepped out, smiling. He was carrying a large cup in his hand. “This is for you, Mrs. Dole. I just made it fresh.” He gave the older woman the cup, being careful to keep it wrapped in napkins.

 “Oh, well thank you Mr. Jones.”, she beamed.

 The two men then shook hands. “I almost didn't recognize you with your beard shaved”, Dr. Krait said. It was true; Johnathan Jones almost looked like a different person now. He looked much more professional, although his long hair, which he had tied in a ponytail, was the same as it ever was.

 “And it is good to see you too, George,” he laughed. “Come on, let me show you up to my office.”

 He was relieved to see that his old friend had not seemed to change much. Ten years is a long time, especially so for a young man like Mr. Jones was the last time he had seen him. How old must he be now? 35 maybe. He had often seen his name in documents and interdepartmental memoranda, but having different jobs never allowed them to cross paths.

 After an elevator ride and short walk down the hall, they arrived at Mr. Jones' office. This was a big room with a large desk with a computer and other electronics. The walls were lined full with open file cabinets and boxes were strewn all over the room, some open and others closed. There were stacks of papers and folders everywhere. He moved to sit in one of the chairs in front of the desk. Mr. Jones made them both coffee, being slow and deliberate as he did this, seemingly trying to take as much time as possible. “I guess you've read the reports, George?”

 “I have.” He had read the lengthy report 5 times since he received it a couple days ago. He knew it was important when it was delivered to him by hand. And he definitely knew it was important when he was told he would be going to Las Vegas to meet with the new Department of Energy Regional Director of Operations, Mr. Jones.

 “What do you think of it?”

 “Honestly, a lot of the report is outside of my knowledgeable expertise. Lots of technical descriptions and jargon.” This was mostly the truth; while he understood most of the anatomical and morphological aspects of the creatures, the details about extrasensory perception and psychokinetic phenomena was difficult for him to grasp. And he had no idea what multi-planar non-perceptible coordinate axes really were. He continued, “But if you've called me out here, then you must be needing help with a certain kind of job. The report mentioned a planned excursion into P2. My hunch is that is why you called me here. You must not think the creature is dead.”

 “Actually, we do think it's dead. Or at least gone. There have so far been no signs of continued predation. But your other hunch is correct. I need someone to take a team in and then bring them back safely. What do you think?”

 This whole situation was strange, probably the strangest he could remember. And dangerous if the report was accurate. But he had already decided that if he had the opportunity to transfer to a new section that he would take it. And nobody could do the job like he knew he could. He took a big sip of his coffee. “I'll do it.”

 A big smile spread across Mr. Jones' face. “Cheers!”

 

 

***

 

S2 - Will

 

_Hurry, hurry!_

 He needed to pick up the pace if he was going to make it. He could hear it behind him getting closer. Its legs had been torn off, but it still managed to drag itself around with its arms. The ground shifted suddenly and he fell. Suddenly he was wet. Had he fallen into a puddle? No, somehow he was underwater. It was murky and he could barely see in front of him. There was a light shining from above him. His arms and legs were so tired and he was already almost out of breath from running. He began to move upwards toward the light. But he wasn't a good swimmer; he was barely making progress. Something else was wrong, the water was thick and heavy like syrup. He couldn't hold his breath for much longer.

  _No, no, oh god, I'm going to drown_.

 He started to panic; there was no way he'd be able to reach the surface. His lungs were burning and he felt like he was being squeezed. The surface was moving farther away now. He couldn't control himself anymore and he sucked in water through his nose. The sensation made him jerk his head back. He couldn't see anything anymore and he flailed his arms and legs and his throat and nose were burning and his head was being crushed and something slammed into him and -

 He was in his bed. The sound of his own whimpering had awoken him. He closed his eyes and opened them a couple times. He was terrified. If only he could just stay where he was until the morning. He was tangled under his blankets and covered in sweat. The mattress he was lying on was soggy as well. He must have wet the bed. The light from his bedside lamp was dim. One of the bulbs must have gone out. He climbed out of bed and walked to his wardrobe avoiding looking out the window. He rummaged through the drawers for a clean pair of pajamas before heading to the bathroom.

 He didn't like the way the cold tiles felt on his bare feet. He didn't care much for anything cold now. He removed his soiled clothes and kicked them into a pile. He had planed on taking a shower, but decided against it because he didn't want to wake Jonathan or his mother; they needed their rest. He began to remember his dream as he filled the sink with lukewarm water. Trying to ignore it, he took a wash cloth and began to clean himself, being careful not to spill too much water.

 He didn't like the way his body was beginning to look. He didn't have much strength and it was easy to tell that he had lost a lot of weight. After his “ordeal”, he had not had a hard time regaining what he had lost. In fact, he actually enjoyed all the food he got to eat and even now he was always hungry. But he had to keep to his new diet.

 He dried himself off and changed into his new clothes. The sound of the water draining down the sink sounded like a wet growl. He hung his towel to dry and hurried back to his room. The clock next to his lamp read 03:11. Just a few more hours. He took a couple of his big coats from his closet and crawled under his bed. There wasn't much room and the floor was cold, but he managed to ball himself up between the coats.

  _Just a few more hours._

 

***

 

S3 - Troy

 

“… and he used the assassination of his father, Phillip, as his official 'casus belli'.”

 History was usually interesting, but for the past week the class had been studying Alexander The Great. This should have been a good thing, but everything Mr. Franco talked about with the class was stuff he already knew. A lot of the cool stuff wasn't even talked about.

 “Does anyone want to take a guess as to what 'casus belli' means? I'll give you a small hint, it isn't a Greek phrase.”

 What a dumb hint. Alexander mostly spoke Macedonian. And he certainly didn't speak Latin.

 “Mike, you look like you might have a guess.”

 Hearing that name made him snap to attention.

 “Um. I'm.. not sure.”

 Why was his heart beating so fast?

 “Okay, anyone else wanna take a try…? It means-”

 He raised his hand. The teacher looked surprised.

 “Yes, Troy? Do you need to use the restroom?”

 “No. I uh, the word, I mean the phrase; it means cause of war. In Latin.” Mr. Franco looked more surprised.

 “That's right, yeah. That is pretty much what it means.”

 There was silence for a moment. Nobody in the class said anything. Three rows ahead of him he noticed Dustin saying something to Mike who didn't seem to respond. This irritated him for some reason. What was he expecting anyway? Mr. Franco continued with the lesson. He shouldn't have said anything. He crushed his pencil's lead tip into the desk until there was nothing but black dust left.

 “We still have a few minutes left, so let me assign your partners for the next group paper.” Mr. Franco began listing the pairing. He hoped he wouldn't get stuck with a dumbass again. On the last group paper, he had to write nearly the whole thing because his partner's sections were full of grammatical errors and factual inaccuracies. “Jennifer, you work with Emma.” Thank god, he wouldn't have to work with Jennifer Hayes. She was - “Troy, you will be working with Mike.”

 What the fuck? Did he hear that right? Ahead of him, Dustin was whispering something to Mike again. This time Mike replied and Dustin began turning around. He quickly began occupying himself with his notebook, drawing squares with his useless pencil. He was starting to sweat. Maybe he could ask Mr. Franco for a different partner. He had to.

 The bell rang. As people started leaving he began heading towards Mr. Franco's desk where he sat. But before he got there Mike and Dustin started talking to him. He quickly turned toward the door, trying to act casual. He waited outside the room listening to their conversation as everyone left.

 “I'm sorry Mike. I don't see a reason to switch you out. I hope you aren't thinking you'll have to do extra work. Troy does well like you do. And if you guys have some grudge with each other, this would be a good time to work it out. In life, we don't always-”

 He left quickly.

  _This was bullshit_. He turned the dial on his combination-lock. He had just gotten this lock for his new bike today, after his old one was stolen. He had practiced unlocking it all morning, but now the damn thing wasn't working. He spun it all the way around to “clear” it. Right, stop, left, stop, right, stop, pull. Nothing. “Gah!”

 “Hey Troy.” It was Zach. He was probably the tiniest boy at Hawkins' Middle School. The two of them had P.E. in the mornings and they sometimes ate lunch together. “Are you having trouble with your lock?”

 “Yeah. I can't seem to get this thing open.” Zach sat his bike down and knelt next to him.

 “What's the password?”

 “Oh, uh...” Zach had striking features.

 “Don't worry, It's not like I'm gonna steal it.” Was he Native American?

 “15, 37, 9.” Could non-white people have freckles? That was a dumb thing to wonder, he could see the answer. He watched the slim finger manipulate the dial. Right. Stop. Left. Stop. Right. Stop. Pull.

 “There you go.”

 “Thanks. I don't know what the problem was.”

 “Maybe you loosened it up for me?” Something about that made Troy smile.

 “Maybe.” He spotted Mike and his friends out of the corner of his eye, moving to their bikes. They hadn't spotted him yet. “Oh, I gotta go.” He turned quickly and hopped on his bike and starting peddling as fast as he could. Zach said something behind him as he left, but he couldn't hear it.


	2. Chapter 2

S4 – Mike

 This seriously sucked. He couldn't believe that he had to work with Troy. Of all the people it could have been, he got the worst option possible. He would rather have to write two papers alone. Maybe he could just not come to school next week. He could say he was sick or something.

“Dustin, Mike!” It was Lucas. Will was walking beside him. “You guys don't look happy.”

Dustin answered for him, “Mr. Franco put Mike with Troy for our group papers.”

“Oh, man.” The four of them walked to their bikes.

“What are you going to do, Mike?”, Will asked. Will had been told about what had happened between him & Dustin and Troy & James at the quarry. He remembered how shocked he looked when he found out. He had never seen Will like that before.

“I don't know.” He sighed.

“You could try asking Mr. Franco to change your partner.”

“I already tried that. He said we should 'work out our differences'. He wouldn't be saying that if he knew what Troy was like. Or the stuff he does to us.” He tried to think about the last time Troy had messed with them. _Hmm._ Troy actually hadn't bothered them since the encounter at the quarry. Really, he barely saw Troy at all outside of the 2 classes he had with him.

They all got on their bikes and began heading down the road. Tomorrow they would all be having a sleepover so they could spend the weekend playing a new game that was based on Dungeons and Dragons. He was looking forward to this because it was supposed to let him be the Dungeon Master while also participating in the main adventuring party. He already had his character's class and stat progression planned out.

Dustin's house was the closest to the school, so he was the first to get home.

“I'll see you guys tomorrow!”

“Remember, 12 o' clock. Don't be late this time.”

He and Will and Lucas continued on to their homes. They played a game of “guess who” and tried to act like some of their classmates. Lucas was always the best at this, usually making everyone laugh, but today Will didn't seem to think it was very funny. This made it hard to enjoy. Without Dustin, they didn't talk as much. It wasn't weird or anything, but Dustin always had something to say to get them talking.

When they got to his and Lucas' houses, they stopped. They almost always went with Will to his house and then came back. But before they went on they turned a garden gnome in Lucas' yard to face towards the house. This was their parent's way of knowing that they had been home and were going with Will. This was one of the small reminders that things were different now.

They continued to Will's house. Will lived the furthest away from the others, out in the woods on the outskirts of Hawkins with no other homes nearby. They rode in silence as they passed through Mirkwood. This place definitely deserved its name especially after what had happened here. He wondered how it felt for Will to have to pass through this place all of the time. He looked over at him and saw that he was staring down at the ground as he rode. It must still be hard for him. Maybe he could get his mind off of whatever he was worrying about if he talked to him. He hated seeing him like this. Will had recovered quickly from what happened to him in the Upside Down, but over the past 4 months, he had starting acting different. He just seemed _down_ all the time now. Maybe waiting for him to get better wasn't going to be enough. There had to be something he could do to get his old Will back.

 

 

***

 

 

S5 - Will

In about a minute, he'd be out of Mirkwood, and in just a few minutes after that, he would be home. Even though it was still daylight out he couldn't look into the woods. There couldn't be anything there, but what if there was? Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Mike was moving along side him.

“Do you have your character ready for tomorrow's campaign? I guess you picked the Mage class, right?”

“Yeah. It seemed like the best class for my character.” In the new game, the Mage class was the most similar to the Wizard class he usually played as. It was more offense based than he was used to, so it would be a big change. “What about you? What class did you pick?” Mike was always the Dungeon Master, so he never had to play like they did.

“I chose Priest.”

Surprised, he looked up from the road. “Priest? Really?” The Priest class was one of the hardest to play as.

“I don't think it'll be as difficult in this game. Besides, we'll need one. We already have all the other skill sets in our party except for an early healer. Lucas' Paladin doesn't learn good healing spells for a long time and your Mage won't have any.”

“What about Dustin?”

“Dustin is going to be a Ranger. He'll have lots of support skills but no healing.”

“Oh.” Mike was amazing. In a game made for 6 players, Mike had managed to balance their party for 4 people. And he had probably already drawn out the maps and planned a bunch of strategies for the entire campaign.

He and Mike talked about school and the new campaign for the rest of the way home. The ride seemed to pass more quickly than it usually did. Lucas was about 20 feet behind them. Whenever they rode home together, Lucas always took up a position behind them. He didn't know why. As they rode into the yard, he noticed that his mom's car was parked out front. She was usually still at work at this time. As he thought about this, Benny came running from behind the house to greet them. The dog must have been more interested in the two guests because he ran straight to Mike and began smelling his shoes. Mike ruffled the dog's ears which caused Benny to lick his fingers. Mike's giggling at this made him smile. As Lucas was getting off his bike, his shoe caught on the pedal and he fell over. Benny ran over and climbed on his stomach and started licking his face. Lucas laughed loudly and Benny began running in circles around him while barking and charging at him. Lucas was always acting so serious, so it was nice to see him more playful like this.

His mom came out of the house then and greeted them. “Hey boys.”

“Hey mom.”

“Hey Mrs. Byers”

“Hey Mrs. By- uff”, Benny jumped on Lucas again.

Mom thought this was funny, but she called Benny over to her and told him to sit. He only took commands from her. “You okay, Lucas?”

“Yeah, we were just playing”, he said as stood and brushed himself off.

The phone rang from inside. “I gotta get that. Lucas, Mike, I'll see you around. Come on, Benny”, and she went back into the house with Benny following her.

Mike started talking as Lucas got back on his bike. “Well. I'll see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah.” They stood there for a moment in an awkward silence.

“Will?”

“Yeah?”

“Uhh...”, Lucas had stopped in the road and was watching them. “Oh, nothing. Work on your character. See you tomorrow!” With that, he hurried off with Lucas, and the two of them went down the road.

 

Back in the house, his mom had finished on the phone and she was in the kitchen making something.

“Hey, honey. Did you have a good day at school?”

“It was fine.” She hugged him to her side while she carried a jug of milk in her other hand. “Why are you home so early?” She usually didn't get home until late in the afternoon.

“Mr. Melvard gave me the rest of the day off.” She began to take food from the refrigerator and she started heating the oven. “Starting tonight, I'm going to be working a late shift over at the Waffle House in Chesterville.”

“That's good.” Really she worked too much, but he knew they needed the money.

“Now, Jonathan will still be here most days, but are you going to be okay here by yourself if he is working late too?” She had stopped what she was doing and looked at him.

“Yeah, I'll be okay.” He couldn't keep her from taking this job and he knew they needed Jonathan to keep working too. He gave her a smile. “I'll be just fine.” He needed to change the subject. “Let me help you with dinner. What are we making?”

“I thought we'd have breakfast for dinner. Does French-toast sound good to you?”

“Sounds great.”

 

Dinner was finished earlier than they thought it would be, so they decided to eat even though Jonathan wasn't home yet. The meal looked just about as good as he could imagine. His eggs were softly scrambled just the way he liked them, the French toast was soft on the inside with a light crunch on the outside and it smelled lightly of maple and vanilla. His favorite part, the bacon, was fried perfectly and crispy. It was torture to cook this meal and it was even worse to eat it. He'd been _so_ hungry all day, maybe he could just eat a couple pieces and some of the eggs or…

“Go ahead and eat up, honey. There is plenty for us and Jonathan when he gets home.”

He took a bite of the French toast. It was delicious. And the bacon was so good too. When Mom got up to get a cup of coffee, he spit out the food he was chewing into his napkin. He tore a piece of French toast off and stuffed it in his pocket. He hated wasting food. All the effort his mom and Jonathan went through to pay for it was being wasted. And this was one of his favorite meals and he was so hungry too. He felt like he was going to cry.

Outside, a car pulled into the yard and a few moments later Jonathan was coming in the door. Mom went to greet him. While they were talking, he ate another bite of eggs and dumped most of his food into the trash. He covered it with some other garbage, and then headed to his room. On his way, he overheard Jonathan talking about finishing work early and mom was saying she was going to take a nap.

In his room, he sat at his desk to look over his homework, He had already done most of it in class. He then took out his notebook and looked at his character sheet for Will the Wise, now a Mage. All of the sudden everything was dark and he felt cold. He shut his eyes. He could smell that strange familiar odor. The desk felt mushy and wet under him. He heard a disembodied barking coming from somewhere close by. Then as quickly as it had happened, it was over. He opened his eyes. Benny was barking at him. Everything was normal again. For now. He turned his attention back to his character sheet. He had to be ready for tomorrow.

 

***

 

 

S6 – Troy

He turned his head again but this time, the sun was shining in his face. He turned his whole body away from the window and pull the covers up over his head. Outside he could hear some little kids screaming and laughing in the street. He wasn't going to be able to sleep anymore. He sat up in bed and yawned. He fetched his watch from under his pillow: 11:21 AM, SAT, 03-03-84. He put on his jeans from yesterday and started looking for a shirt. He rifled through some piles of clothes he hadn't folded, but gave up when he realized all his dirty laundry was mixed in with his other clothes. He opened his window to listen to the sounds of the neighborhood. Some little kids were playing in the street while someone else was hammering away on something metal. He heard the sound of his garage door opening and the truck starting up. He looked out the window to see his father driving out of the driveway and down the road. Then he heard his mom walking up the stairs and down the hallway towards his room. He tidied up the clothes pile as best he could and went to sit at his desk in front of the window. His mom knocked on the door.

“Yeah?”

She opened the door and walked in. “Oh, you're up already. Dad is going to the store for a few thing. When he gets back, we were thinking we'd go see Repo Man at the movies.”

“Do I have to go? I was going to hang out with James today.”

“Oh. When were you going to go?”

“I don't know, 10 or 20 minutes.” He was getting annoyed with her already.

“Well what about later tonight?”

“Sure.”

“Okay, so around 6 o'clock?”

“Fine.”

She stood in the doorway and looked around the room. “You should clean your room a little bit.”

“Okay.”

“You probably couldn't find a shirt in that pile of clothes over there.”

“Mom, _okay_!”

“Troy, don't take that tone with me.”, she said sternly. She gave him _the look._

He looked away from her and down at his desk. “Sorry...” When he looked back at her, she didn't look angry anymore.

“You have fun with James today. And be back around 6, so we can get to the movies on time.” She smiled and left.

When he heard that she was back down the stairs, he crawled under his bed and removed a crumpled paper bag. He stuffed it into his backpack. He finished getting dressed, putting on the first shirt that still smelled like fabric softener. He grabbed his jacket and backpack and went downstairs and out the door. He got on his bike and started heading towards the river.

After some time, he arrived at the trailer park. He biked past the main entrance and went through the woods towards the back. Red's trailer was apart from the others in a more secluded area of the park. When he got up to the trailer, he knocked a few times under the window. He heard movement from inside. As he waited, Red's bloodhound, came out from under the trailer. When she saw him, she let out a low cooing noise.

“That you, Troy?”, he heard from the window.

“It's me.” The door opened part way.

“You weren't followed? Do you have the package?”

“Are you being serious?”

Red started laughing and opened the door to let him in. “You're no fun. Do you think James Bond acts like that?”

“Whatever.” He took the brown bag out and gave it to the man.

“This thing is all beat up. What'd you do, play football with it?”

“That's how I got it. Blame Tony or whoever if you don't like it.” Red made a weird face like the kind you might see someone in a comedy movie make.

“Damn, kid, you need to lighten up, I'm just messing with ya.”

He put his hands in his pockets and watched as Red weighted the bag and then took it to his room. He'd be in there for a couple minutes, so he sat on the couch and turned on the TV. There wasn't anything very interesting to watch. He did see a commercial for the Repo Man movie he'd be seeing later tonight.

When Red came back into the main room, he had changed clothes.

“Here you go. 20 U.S. American dollars paid to you for services rendered.” This guy was a goofball sometimes. He also had a grocery bag with him. “And take these with you too.”

He looked in the bag. “What the hell am I supposed to do with a bunch of corn?”

“If anybody asks you what you're doing over here, just tell them that you were getting some vegetables. That's good stuff too, I grew it myself.”

“How did you harvest corn in March?” It was way too cold outside to have any good gardens this time of year.

“Aw, don't worry about that.” He grabbed his keys from the next to the door. “Listen, I'm going out. You can hang out here if you want. Eat whatever if you've hungry, just lock up when you leave. And feed Coconut before you go too, I'm in a hurry.”

“Sure thing.”

Red stuck his head back in the door. “And don't bother my beer!”

What an idiot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave kudos and comments if you like. I enjoy reading comments and I like any criticism and gushing :)
> 
> I'll try to post every Saturday from now on. I hope it makes your weekend better.


	3. Chapter 3

S7 - Dr. Krait

“Good morning, Dr. Krait. Nice to see you again.”

“Good morning, Mrs. Dole.” Today was going to be his first real day on the job at this location. He had been staying at an upscale hotel for the past two days doing nothing. The hotel was near downtown Las Vegas and all the noise and lights and people didn't suit him. When he was not on an assignment, he preferred peace and quiet. He hoped to move into an apartment near the office tonight. They were located practically in the desert on the outskirts of an urban area far from the “main attractions” of the city. Most importantly though, he was ready to finally get to work.

H e took the elevator up to the 5 th floor to  Mr. Jones' office. As he entered the hallway he came across a man in a lab coat. He greeted him. “Good morning.”

“Good morning. Say, you aren't Dr. Krait are you?” The man had a slight Texas accent and was carrying several thick folders in his hand.

“I am. How'd you know?”

“Oh, a lucky guess. I hadn't seen you around here. I'm the guy who is going to give you your briefing on your new job. I'm heading to Mr. Jones' office right now.”

“We're going to the same place then.” They chatted a little as they walked down the hall. The man said his name was Mr. Black. When they got to Mr. Jones' room, they had to wait as several men carried out a couple large boxes. When they were finally able to enter the room, they were met by Mr. Jones. They shook hands and Mr. Jones went to pour them all coffee.

“Since you have already met Mr. Black, I think we should get right down to business.”

“Yes, I agree.”

Mr. Jones locked the door and they all took seats at the desk. “ Well let us begin. ”

 

It was almost 8 PM according to his watch. He had just signed for his apartment and was having lunch at a local hamburger joint. A TV was showing the evening news, but he wasn't paying any attention to it. He had just heard the  _strangest things_ of his whole career. Yes, this was even stranger than when he had to rescue that cruise ship from the swarm of 12-foot radioactive giant isopods. Or even when he had to hunt down that half-man half-grasshopper Russian spy.  Yes, this was definitely stranger.

There was a girl with psychokinetic powers. Okay, that isn't too bad, it is extremely rare but there have a few people like that. But this girl could do other stuff like  listen to people from far away.  “Extra sensory perception” or ESP as it was called.  _Amazing._

He paid for his meal and began walking back to his apartment about a block down the street. This girl was so good at this ESP that she found some kind of creature, and it apparently lived  in a “coordinate plane of existence.” Really this part still didn't make any sense to him. These scientist guys probably didn't fully understand it either. As it was, they were calling the place where it lived Plane 2, or P2. The thing followed the girl and somehow got into the lab at Hawkins, busted up the place, and then started hunting in and around the nearby town. The girl ran away for some reason.

Dr. Brenner, the head of operations at the Hawkins' Lab, searched for the girl  for a week. The accounts of what happened when they found her were vague. Apparently, when they found her, the creature showed up and there was a bloodbath. Dr. Brenner and many agents were killed. One survivor says he saw the girl disintegrated along with the creature as the two fought.

He unlocked the door to his apartment. It was mostly empty except for a few pieces of furniture. He didn't mind it much. He had unpacked most of his clothes and belongings. He began to look over the report he'd been given earlier again. At the lab in Hawkins, there was an “Access Point” or portal or something that led into P2. It was growing everyday, getting slightly bigger. Mr. Jones wanted to go back to the Hawkins Lab and go into that place to “do research.” For his own role in this whole thing, he got to be the tour guide on this lovely trip into Hell.

 

 

***

 

 

S8 – Lucas

 

He had to think very carefully about what he did next. Dustin had been stabbed in the thigh and couldn't move. He was bleeding heavily. Mike was yelling something and Will just stared helplessly. The man with the knife had his face covered by his hood. He wanted to run, but he didn't know if they could get away with Dustin in this condition. He had to act. But what could he do?

“Lucas, do something!”, Dustin yelled.

He knew what he needed to do.

“Circle Slash!” He rolled the dice. “32!” Dustin started squealing and Will had a small smile on his face which was notable.

Mike read the results, “Hooded Man receives 120 damage and-”

“Yeah!”, Dustin shouted.

“-and is defeated. Hooded Man is revealed to be a Lowly Thief. Lowly Thief drops Empty Bag.”

Dustin started laughing, “Hah, you wasted a Circle Slash on some chump!”

He sighed. “How was I supposed to know what he was? Besides, you're the one who got ambushed and took a Critical Hit. Now why don't you craft that Empty Bag into a Bandage before you lose all your Stamina Points.”

“As you order, oh brilliant knight ,Lucas.” It had been decided that since Mike was the Dungeon Master it would be unfair if he was also the Party Leader. So they had all given the role to him. He liked it a lot so far.

This new game was pretty cool. They had been playing for almost 6 hours now. They could probably play for another 5 hours tonight and there was still part of tomorrow too. This game included a long preset campaign that they could stop and continue later if they couldn't finish it.

The door at the top of the stairs opened and Mike's mom came down with a big plate in her hands.

“Are you guys having fun? I've made some pizza rolls.”

He got up to take the plate from her. “Thanks Mrs. Wheeler.”

“Sure. I'll go get you some drinks.”, and she went back up the stairs.

When he set the plate down, he noticed that Will was staring at it intensely. “Are you hungry, Will?”, he asked playfully.

Will blushed and stammered something before settling with “...a little bit.”

Mike put his hand on Will's shoulder. “Dig in, Will, or Dustin'll eat your share.” Dustin stuck his tongue out at that.

Mrs. Wheeler called down the stairs, “Could a couple of you help me with these drinks?”

He and Dustin went to get the drinks from her. On their way back to the table, he could see Mike whispering something to Will which was making him laugh. They looked genuinely happy for the first time in months. Those two had been through a lot when all that crazy shit happened. It was obvious why Will was troubled; he had been trapped in the Upside Down for a whole week. And even though Mike didn't seem to show it much, he was probably still sad about El. But with the way they were acting now, maybe things would start to go back to the ways things were before. Even if those two were kinda weird before.

 

Sometime later that night, he was awoken by a sound. He sat up quickly and looked around; Dustin was snoring softly nearby and Mike was on the old couch near the table. Will however wasn't in his sleeping bag near the couch. The light in the bathroom was on. _Chill out_ , he thought to himself. He closed his eyes and thought about nothing in particular. His heart rate was up from the adrenaline rush though and he couldn't sleep. 

He laid in the darkness for what must have been a long time. Was Will still in the bathroom? He got up and went to the bathroom. He knocked quietly and whispered, “Will, are you in there?” There was no response. He tried to look under the door, but he couldn't see anything. He opened the door and found Will on the floor resting his head on the toilet, asleep. _What the hell._ He stepped into the cramped bathroom and rubbed Will's shoulder. “Will… Will-”. The small boy jumped awake,  knocking over a trashcan as he threw his arms out and looked around, confused. His eyes were wide and he was terrified. “Will relax, you're alright, you're alright.” That seemed to calm him down.

“I…, wh- I just...”

“Relax. What are you doing in here? Are you sick?” Will looked away and then down at the floor. With just his pajamas on, he looked even smaller than he usually did.

“I just had a headache...” His voice was wavering.

“And you fell asleep?” The sound of bare feet on concrete was approaching. Will stood up quickly and  looked at him.

“Don't tell them. Please?” He nodded in agreement. Mike peeked his head into view from outside the bathroom door. 

“What's up?”

“Nothing, Will just knocked over the trashcan. We'll clean it up in the morning, come on Will.” They headed back to their sleeping places. 

D ustin spoke from his sleeping bag, “What is it?”

“Nothing, go back to sleep.” He looked over at Will who had covered his head with his pillow.

Maybe things weren't going to go back to the way they were.


	4. Chapter 4

*** Situation Update ***

Crap news: My laptop overheats and shuts down after about 30 minutes of use, so now I have to use the family computer to do my typing and posting. Normally, I write a little bit, stare at the screen, think about stuff, look at my notes, write a little more, stare at it some more, blah blah blah, for a couple hours. I can't really do that now since _mama en papa_ have to use the computer too. AND it would be embarrassing to explain myself ("But mom, Will X Mike is my passion").

Good news: I didn't lose any data, so I'll just old school physically write this stuff in a notebook like I do with my notes, and I'll type it when I get some "free time." This is undoubtedly going to be slower, so I won't post every Saturday now. This isn't as big a deal as it might sound, but now you know.

**Author's Note:**

> Leave kudos and comments if you like. I enjoy reading comments and I like any criticism and gushing :)


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